Thursday, October 21, 2010

My Cryonite Cove blog for the online space game Pirate Galaxy is almost two months old now, and I'm having a great time running it. This is important as that was key to my decision to start it, as I explained in Writing For Fun.

So far the advertising cash hasn't started to flow yet but I'm still in the early days. I kept Cryonite Cove quiet at the start so that I would have time to build up a body of posts that would be worth reading. I also spent time fine-tuning the design and layout. I'm confident enough now to start inviting people to visit.

I've joined the official forum for the game and posted about the blog which generated some return visitors. It's also in my forum signature so I need to start posting there more often. There are lots of other avenues to explore so it's time to get more aggressive in attracting attention. I'll have to ask a certain seven-year-old for tips.

One drawback has been that over the last two months I've spent less time posting here. However I consider Cryonite Cove to be actually writing, rather than writing about writing, so the time was well spent. Now I'm in my stride I'll be posting here more often. Plus the Autumn Sci-Fi extravaganza is upon us again so I'll have lots of genre telly to rave about, as long as I can stop watching it for long enough.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Merlin

We are three episodes into the new (3rd) series of Merlin. This is a BBC family fantasy drama serial shown on Saturday early evening. If you've never heard of it visit the official website below, they do excellent web-work.

www.bbc.co.uk/merlin

I know a seven-year-old who has trouble deciding if this or Doctor Who is her favourite show. It's the good Doctor for me, but I think she'd plump for Merlin but is afraid of hurting my feelings. I like Merlin too so I don't take it to heart.

The inspiration for this show was apparently Smallville, the US series about the early years of Clark Kent, before he became Superman. I've never watched Smallville but it's in its 10th and final season with a strong fanbase so it must have something going for it. The first ever episode of Merlin showed the eponymous hero arriving at Camelot as a young lad. He has some basic magical powers but knows that he must keep them secret. The king, Uther, has a deep hatred of magic and has had many practitioners put to death. Arthur is the arrogant warrior-prince, Guinevere (Gwen) is a serving girl to Morgana, Uther's ward.

Merlin is a sort of 'Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - The Early Days'. I suspect that students and fans of Arthurian lore may have a marmite relationship with this show. Historically it's rubbish, but as a piece of family entertainment it's a belter. I enjoy watching how the pieces start to fall into place, such as the first appearances of Mordred, Excalibur, Lancelot etc.

The journey of Morgana from fiesty young princess to evil witch is particularly good, and her journey to the dark side now seems finally complete. There has not been one single event that has corrupted her, rather a series of ordeals, dissapointments and revelations, all brought into focus by a manipulative mentor. Slow-burning and realistic.

Although there is a story arc, you could happily drop into this show at any point and enjoy it immensely. Give it a go, just turn off your internal history professor first.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

On Friday night I was planning to go up Broad Street (Birmingham's busiest street of pubs and clubs) to say goodbye to an old colleague of mine who's leaving for Australia. However I took the whole expedition far too lightly and ended up soaked to the skin while trying to find the venue. Next time I'll look at a map, get a contact number and wear a jacket.

Luckily the night wasn't a complete loss as I instead went to see Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. Well the cinema was dry, I wasn't going home without doing something worthwhile, and I'd wanted to see it for a while. My wife wasn't interested, and while my daughter was I thought, best not, as it was a 12A and I hadn't been able to vet it before hand.

I'm very glad I saw it because it's a great film. If you don't like comics or video games you may not want to bother, as that's the source of half the fun. There's some good music too and very nice action scenes. To give you a taste, when Scott beats an evil ex of his new love a glowing number appears over the scene and his opponent is replaced by a cascade of coins, just like beating a boss in a SuperMario game. It's a very original approach to converting a comic and it makes the film very surreal. Like I said, if you don't like comics or video games then you'll probably wonder what the hell is going on.

My only complaint is that Scott is far too wimpy (when he's not wielding a Katana or beating up six big stunt men). It's hard to like him, or see how he could have accumulated so many exes of his own when he's so wet. I haven't read the graphic novel so I don't know if that's down to the comic or the film.

Otherwise very good, and 12A seems a bit harsh to me. Well worth seeing.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Piranha 3D

Saturday I went to see Piranha 3D on an unexpected date night. What a great film. When we came out the whole audience was grinning, which would have been rubbish if we’d seen The Passion of the Christ, but for such a blatantly fun film it was perfect.

Just to summarise the plot, ‘prehistoric piranha attack spring break’. Now there’s a great example of a five word film pitch.

You do have to accept a couple of dubious assumptions though.
1. A colony of piranha could survive for two million years in an underground lake through cannibalism alone.
2. Ugly girls don’t go to spring break.

Some of the effects were excellent. CGI was used to support prosthetic and make up effects rather than being the main attraction, the exception being the piranha themselves. The after effects of the piranha attack were especially impressive, with one screaming half-eaten victim falling into two as rescuers carry her up the shore.

My favourite magazine SFX makes the very good point that horror is the true home of 3D and it works very well in this film, gratuitous and effective.

There was an excess of gratuitous female nudity too, which works for me. Actually there is male genital nudity but I will not elaborate, as it is far from erotic and much funnier on screen. Kelly Brook may have found the film here to break her in Hollywood. She’d make an excellent scream queen for quite a few years yet.

In fact there’s a six word pitch that may convince you to see this film if I haven’t sold you on it yet.

‘Kelly Brook, nude, underwater, in 3D’.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Avatar

I finally got around to seeing Avatar on Bank Holiday Monday. For some reason the Buzz around the film never really captured me the first time and the opportunity to see it never came up. I could have watched it on a trans-Atlantic flight but decided against it. I'd heard it was worth watching for the spectacle rather than the plot, so the 9 inch screen in the back of the chair in front didn't seem the best format. I waited for it to come back to the Imax in Brum and saw it there.

It was good, well worth the money but not as good as Cameron's The Terminator or Aliens (my favourite). It was a lot better than Titanic though. The 3D and effects worked best in the big battle scenes, with the Marine's ships and mecha looking especially realistic. Lingering shots of Pandora flora and fauna got a bit annoying and the 3D seemed a bit gimmicky then. Still you've got to admire Cameron's commitment and dedication to this film, plus the impact it's had on cinema.

I was struck by the commonalities with Aliens. Bad ass marines flying ships that looked very similar. A gorgeous Hispanic female marine. A corporate rep who turns out to be lower than low, Sigourney Weaver of course. Maybe he's planning a future cross-over, Aliens on Pandora. Now that would be fun.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Cryonite Cove

On Saturday I started my new blog about the online space game Pirate Galaxy. The name is Cryonite Cove, and it can be found at http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/


The blog is driven by my writing ambition rather than my genuine fondness for the game. I’m not one of those people who are driven to gain status within a hobby. Some strive to the best, others to be the most famous. You can do this by having the biggest collection of x, be the best player of y, or being the most opinionated and vicious critic of the hobby they love (Comic Book Guy, I’m looking at you.) Desmond Morris opened my eyes to this sort of thing in the Naked Ape, and I’ve never looked at my fellow sci-fi and gaming nuts the same since.

Writing novels and short fiction is hard, I like what I write but it kills me to do it. Blogging is easy. How good it is I couldn’t say (not modesty, I just haven’t assessed my blogging ability yet), but motivation is not a problem. For now anyway, maybe the novelty will wear off.

Anyway, the blog is up and running. If all goes to plan I’ll write an entertaining and interesting blog which Pirate Galaxy fans will flock to, earning me vast sums of cash through advertising as they do. As I love the game and enjoy blogging, it shouldn’t be akin to pulling my own teeth.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Writing for fun

I do sometimes worry about spending time relaxing or having fun rather than writing. There are those, so I'm told, who relax and have fun by writing. I envy them. I like to think about writing, read about it, talk about it. I also like to look back at my work and show it off, or defend it as the case may be.

Unfortunately the writing itself is work, and not work that I look forward to. Once I'm underway it's not so bad. In fact when I'm in full flow I resent any reason to stop, such as eating, sleeping or the unreasonable desire of your family to communicate with you. It's getting started that's the real bugger. The exception is this blog, which I do enjoy. I think it's the bite-size nature, seeing my writing on the WWW, and discovering that someone from Moscow was last night reading about my bed-time stories.

There are books of advice on forcing yourself to write, and I'm sure all of it works for someone. There are tricks that work for me too, but it is still a challenge. So when I sit down to play Pirate Galaxy, or watch telly, or sit in the bath reading, there's always the nagging guilt that I should be writing.

Well I have hit upon a plan.

Why not start a Blog on my Pirate Galaxy adventures? People have found this blog looking for Pirate Galaxy information and comment, and there are forums and data bases run by fans all over the web. Maybe there's a market for an honest, independent, entertaining (hopefully) blog written by a non-obsessive, literate player.

As well as combining two fun things, there is the chance of making some cash from it too. I've decided to keep ads off this blog, but in a Pirate Galaxy blog they'd be welcome. Maybe I'll earn a fortune and be hired by every MMORPG game to play and blog in their universe and spread the word. PC sponsors will supply me with free equipment and broadband, while players fight to be in the clans of the famous blogger.

Why not, and did I mention the fun?

Update
The blog is now up and running. Have a look and see what you think.
http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/

Monday, August 16, 2010

Kick Off

So at last my club, Birmingham City FC, have kicked off the new season. My family could tell straight away, because I got snappy when they asked me stuff while I was trying to listen to the match. The fact that we had just gone 2:0 down against 10 men didn't help.

For the record, we drew 2:2 with Sunderland via a last minute equaliser, which feels as good as a win. Last season we lost our opening match and the Sunderland away game, so whichever way you look at it we're a point better off already.

With the Blues back life gets that little bit more interesting. For a few hours each week all other problems disappear. Your horizon shrinks to the confines of the stadium around you (or the voices coming out of the radio). You have no control over events other than to shout, sing and applaud. Maybe that's the point, the attraction. You're not just allowed to broadcast your primal feelings of rage, joy, and despair, it's demanded. Thousands around you are doing the same, and if you all sing just that little bit harder, shout that little bit louder, and get under the skin of that opposing player, you might just tip the balance and turn frustration into victory.

Then there's the fun away from the games. Arguing with fans of your team and others, looking at the table and predicting results, checking injuries and form guides. Hope and worry are constant companions of the football fan and we wouldn't be without them.

Welcome back blues.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Deep

I loved the first episode of The Deep, the BBC's new submarine drama. I liked it more than the first episode of Sherlock, though I think I'm in a minority.

BBC 'The Deep' Website

The mystery of the story pressed all the right buttons for me. The disappearance of the previous sub, panicked last messages about being swallowed up, the gigantic Nautilus-like vessel hovering overhead, unexplained bloody death, plus the good old submarine staples of claustrophobia and suffocation. Lovely. It could be international espionage, aliens, maybe the great-grandson of Captain Nemo making his presence felt. In fact with a few cosmetic changes this could be a script for Star Trek.

The second episode was disappointing. 90% of the mystery has been cleared up, with fairly mundane revelations. No aliens, no Nemo, no Atlantis, nothing supernatural, it's just the Russians with a big radar gun. Of course this could all be red herrings, and the Atlantian-Nemo-aliens are pulling all the strings in the background, the strange object in the glowing box gives me some hope.

More likely the Beeb are just teasing us Fan Boys, which is just plain nasty.

Monday, August 9, 2010

New Wolf Family Tattoo

Last week I got my fourth and so far largest tattoo, picture on the right. It was a birthday present, and I am extremely grateful to the giver.

The wolves represent my family, so the colouring of the fur and the eyes matches the person. I had it done at Tattoo Palace in Wolverhampton, and the artist was Corry. You can find them on Facebook.

I gave Corry the design brief, and showed her some examples of tattoo styles that I did and didn't like. I didn't want it to be one of those photograph-like tattoos or too dark. I like comic book style art so it is a little stylised. I gave her a drawing fee and two weeks later came back to see the finished design, which I loved.

It was done in one three and a half hour session, with a couple of ten minute breaks. The upper arm is one of the easiest places to get tattooed, but by the end I'd definitely had enough.

Now I just need to plan my next one.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Earlyworks Press Competition

I've just sent off 5,000 words of Hiding to Earlyworks Press along with a cheque for £14. They're having a competition for 'Book-length Fiction for Children or Teens'. First prize is either £100 advance plus publication, or £350 cash plus a professional appraisal and edit.

earlyworkspress.co.uk/childrens_fiction_competition

I've never entered a competition with an entry fee before. As long as the holders are up front and honest about it I don't see a problem. The fees could cover the cost of the prize, which is fair as long as it is not described as 'donated by our generous sponsor ...'. That means more competitions for us optimistic types.

The holder of the competition could also use the entry fee as an income stream to keep their enterprise going. Again not a problem, as long as everything is transparent and above board.

One advantage for those entering is that it probably cuts down the number of entrants. Those who only enter free comps are not necessarily of lower quality, but it is easier to stand out in a smaller crowd. Plus your work is more likely to get a good look rather than a cursory glance.

So if any one's interested in my new competition let me know. First prize is a free sheet of blank A4, winner to be drawn at random, entry fee £50. You must be prepared to come and collect your prize though, I'm not paying for postage.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sherlock

I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, so made sure to watch last night's premier of BBC's new Sherlock. For those who aren't aware, the series sets the Arthur Conan Doyle characters in modern London. I liked it, and I reckon 8 out of 10 would be a fair score.

Spoiler Warning. Don't read past here if you haven't seen it yet and were planning to do so.

The episode 'A Study In Pink' started off by following Sherlock's opening story 'A Study In Scarlet' very closely. Watson is an army doctor recuperating in London due to problems with his nerves (or post-traumatic stress disorder as they call it nowadays). When he first meets Holmes, Sherlock is battering corpses in a morgue trying to determine if you can bruise a body after death. I think in the novel Watson only hears about this second hand, but I was pleased to see it in the programme. They agree to share a flat, and soon come across a body with 'Rache' written next to it. After this 'Pink' diverges from 'Scarlet', which I admit did disappoint me a little but was probably the best option for the writers to take. While I'd enjoy seeing how the writers manage to crowbar the story into modern times, most viewers won't have read the original fiction and will just want the best story possible, which is fair enough.

Benedict Cumberbatch (great name) is Holmes and Martin Freeman plays John Watson. They both play the roles well, and although I loved Nigel Bruce in those old Holmes films with Basil Rathbone, I'm glad Watson is played as a much more capable adventurer in his own right. I remember that Watson was always packing his revolver in the books, and was never shy of letting off a shot at the villains. Still the bit where Watson shot the murderer was a bit of a surprise, and then Holmes tortures the dying man to get him to talk, Blimey! I don't think Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes would have done that, but it actually fits the character if you accept that he's a sociopath. I'm quite comfortable for the writers to take sensible liberties with the characters if it adds to the story.

I was also glad to see Mycroft appear. I always thought he was underused in the stories. I'd rather it wasn't Mark Gatiss who played him though. Not sure why, he's never done anything to me, but I just don't like him in straight roles.

As Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss created and wrote the series, I'm sure there'll be lots of comparisons between Sherlock and Doctor Who. The main characters are both brilliant men, fighting evil who don't really fit in with human society. The good Doctor has always had a streak of Holmes in him anyway, for example the Master was specifically created to be the Doctor's Moriarty way back in Jon Pertwee's time.

I did have couple of issues with the episode. Why didn't Holmes just take the pill he chose down to the lab at the end to see if he'd guessed right, rather than chuck it at the murderer in a sulk when he wouldn't tell him. I was also disappointed with the revealed solution, seemed a bit simple really. Still, like I said, 8/10, and I'll be watching next week.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Pirate Galaxy- Story Mission completed

I love Pirate Galaxy, but there are times when I just want to smash its face in.

In order to progress through the game, you have to complete what are known as Story Missions. These follow a connected narrative, completing a story in each system. For example in my current system I'm helping scattered colonies of humans struggling to survive on a previously civilised planet, now devastated by the alien Mantis.

I've been stuck on Trade Enabler, a story mission, for ages. It's a squad mission, meaning it's almost impossible to complete with just one player, unless he's flying a more advanced ship. The trouble is you can't get to the next system and get a better ship without completing all story missions in your current system. These missions can be fun and do encourage team play, but if your clan is disbanding, or maybe just no one likes you, it can be hard to find someone who is at the same point in the story as you.

Luckily last night I found a player named Red_Shift who was just about to take on the mission. Even better, he had three wing men with the most advanced ships possible. I shepherded the colonist ship we were protecting, but mostly watched in awe as the Sol ships wasted any Mantis who even thought of looking at us. Bit of a cheat really, but it's who you know right?

Anyway we were 90% of the way through the mission when the game suddenly locked up and kicked me out. My throat closed up and I tried not to hyper-ventilate as I frantically tried to log back in. To have it snatched away at the last minute, the injustice, the unfairness, the b*****ds! When I finally got back into the game, the mission was over and Red_Shift had gone. I got back into orbit, a Mantis Death Squad at my heels, and checked the mission register. Trade Enabler was completed.

Thank you Red_Shift, I am eternally in your debt.

Update
I now have a blog dedicated to Pirate Galaxy. Visit http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/ and let me know what you think.

Inception

I went to see Inception on Saturday. It's a good film. The effects work really well, impressive but not overpowering the story. I'm not an especial fan of Leonardo DiCaprio but he was a good lead, and Marion Cotillard gave a very creepy performance as his wife. I did have a problem with Joseph Gordon-Levitt but it wasn't his fault. Every time he was on screen I kept seeing him as Tommy in his role from Third Rock From The Sun. I'm sure a few more films and I'll get over that.

Inception is an intelligent film so keep your wits about you. However if you start to lose track of who's dreaming who dreaming what at what speed (it makes sense believe me) then there's plenty of blockbuster spectacle to keep you entertained.

I enjoyed Inception a lot, and my companion said it was one of the best films she'd ever seen. One for the big screen, so if you're interested don't put it off, go see it at the cinema.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Made-Up Story for Bedtime

I have on occasion been called upon to make up a bedtime story on the spot. The bedtimer is always the heroine, and I usually get a specified cast list as well. In these stories the heroine has gone to school with socks on her hands and gloves on her feet, stepped out of the crowd at half-time to play and win a football match, rescued her friend from a giant spider that lives behind the garden shed, and helped Doctor Who on his adventures with her magic wand.

The most successful stories have been the ones where the bedtimer's two cats turn into human children, or turn the bedtimer into a cat. Last night the cats came to school and took part in Sports Day. The boy/cat Toby won the running race by dropping to all fours half way when he forgot he was pretending to be human. The high-jump was a bit of failure as the cats tried to blend in and Toby ran face-first into the bar, which got a big laugh from the bedtimer. Finally they got first, second and third in the egg-and-spoon race. Girl/cat Rose would have won but she dropped her egg, so she and Toby chased it about like a cat toy leaving the bedtimer to snatch gold.

I'll have to start writing some of these down, you never know.

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Host

www.hostmovie.com

A few days ago I watched The Host, a South-Korean film from 2006. I'd never heard of it but the film review in the TV guide sounded interesting. This film is a real Gem for fans of monster movies. One thing I liked about it is that the monster appears very early, in full daylight, rampaging through the city while killing innocents. Rather than nose-dive after this, the film takes more of an Alien-like suspense approach, mixed in with political satire and a characterful depiction of a family coping with tragedy. There are plans to do a sequel, and a Hollywood remake is on the cards. Search out the original now and you won't be sorry.

If you visit the official site via the link at the top you get to see the trailer, which would certainly whet my appetite.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Write Place Vs Prizemagic

As I posted the other day, The Write Place has cancelled it's novel competition. After a quick bit of Google action I found out that the 'third party's website' was www.prizemagic.co.uk

I didn't see Michael Shenton's original comment on the competition, but his latest post refers to the value of the prize (publishing) and he suggests that the publishing firm are involved in vanity publishing. I've no idea myself either way so you can read the available comments on both sides and make your own mind up. Either that or just move on.

Whatever you decide to do, bookmark Prizemagic. It has an impressive list of writing competitions that are currently live. A valuable resource for budding poets and authors. It also lists active non-literary competitions which are based on skill, in case you want to put some determined effort into winning a car or holiday. Good luck.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Intriguing

I posted here that I would be entering The Write Place Competition. Unfortunately the entry details on the site have been replaced with the following


IMPORTANT NOTICE AND APOLOGY - Due to comments from a third party's website that has compromised entries to this competition we have had no choice but to cancel the event.


I immediately started to feel guilty. Had I wrecked the competition by posting it here? What did I say? When I got home would there be a crowd of earnest authors waiting for me, slapping monkey wrenches into their palms? (Yes I know, but whenever I picture someone looking for trouble I always see them with adjustable spanners).

I'd love to know the story behind the comp being pulled. I think I am in the clear, but shall have to investigate.

Monday, June 28, 2010

The Secret of Happiness v3

The secret of happiness? Wipe Sunday 27th June from English history. Obliterate the day from your diary, deface your calendar, deny all knowledge of that shameful day. Oh woe is England.

We went out only a game earlier than I expected, but it was a dire performance. Who's to blame? Everyone. The media builds them up to knock them down, revelling in every failure and scandal after making them gods a few weeks before. We get the media we deserve, so it's hard to blame them when we buy the product.

The players didn't perform. Those who weren't good enough failed to show the spirit that may have carried them through. Those who are good enough showed neither guts nor ability. Capello is the coach so he shares the blame.

The referees and his assistants? At least they just made a split-second mistake. Yes it may have turned the match but I doubt it, we deserved our beating. Sep Blatter? Oh yes. A thousand times yes. Fifa's equivalent of King Canut, trying to hold back the waves of technology while the rest of the sporting world is surfing.

Oh well, only four more years of hurt.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Pirate Galaxy



Pirate Galaxy is a free multiplayer online game in which players pilot spaceships against the invading Mantis alien hordes. I love it.

http://pirate-galaxy.gamigo.com/

The game is played through your browser, so you don't need a latest spec computer to play it. This is a good job as our PC is no longer the sprightly thing it once was. What I like about it is that you can go on for half an hour and get involved in a quick fire fight, or spend a couple of hours gathering energy, exploring the solar system you're in, or even building a squadron of other players to take on the more difficult missions.

As you play you gather cystals and blueprints, which help you upgrade your ship, or even buy a newer and tougher ride.

Give it a go, and if you do look out for a pilot named Serig. For me, Thursday night is Pirate Galaxy night.

Update
I've now started a blog dedicated to Pirate Galaxy.
http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Secret Of Happiness v2

The secret of happiness is to stop supporting England.

Dropping Green was a mistake. Maybe he shouldn't have been picked for the first game, but he was and Capello should have stuck by him. Now the whole team knows that if they make one mistake they could be dropped. No wonder they played so poorly today. They were terrified, when they should have relaxed after the USA game.

Being a leader who is feared only gets you so far. Still, maybe Capello will show that he's a leader who's prepared to change.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The Secret of Happiness

Being happy is a lot easier than most people seem to think. The key is to set realistic expectations, especially for things you have no influence over.

If you are an England fan and had convinced yourself that this was our World Cup, that we would win all three of our group matches and crush all opposition in the knock-outs. If you already have a space reserved for the framed photo of Stevie G holding the trophy aloft, then you're probably pretty miserable right now.

If you were merely confident that England would get through the group stage either first or second. If you felt that we were good enough for the quarter or semi-finals, and after that anything can happen, then you and I are feeling okay at the moment. Of course we're disappointed at Green's slip and Rooney's lack of threat, but we do not despair. Our hopes and dreams are just as lofty as all the other England fans, but we keep them seperate from our expectations.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Ring tones

Selecting the right ring tone for your mobile is a bit of a challenge. Is it a reflection of your taste and personality, a fast-moving battle of one-up-manship, a media with its own trends and fashion, or just a question of practicality?

I recently replaced my phone so first tested the tones that came with it. They were all muzak, apart from the 'classic phone ring' which a while back was the tone to have.

I've always preferred to have a genuine music track as my ring tone, but of course I'm too tight to buy a proper one so have to go through my limited music files to find one I like. It has to be one where the opening of the tune works, as I haven't figured out how to get the phone to start at the chorus.

On my last phone I had Eton Rifles by The Jam. If whoever I was with started to groove when it went off, I knew they were my age or cool. This time I fancied a change so tried Up The Junction by Squeeze. It was a good idea in theory, but in practice it made me feel like a middle-aged man poised to Dad-dance around the room.

My second attempt was bang on. Now it's Pretty Vacant by The Sex Pistols and I have a cool tone again, in my ears anyway.

Then you have to think about the tone for your text messages of course. Mine's the scream from the start of the Doctor Who theme tune. I'm so cool.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Write Place Competition

One of the reasons I started this Blog was to create some self-imposed pressure to get on with my writing career. I have inertia issues, otherwise known as being bone idle.

That's why I'm announcing that I'm going to enter Hiding into The Write Place Novel competition. Please throw rotten fruit at me if I miss the deadline.

Thanks to Perry for the notice on the competition.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Authonomy

www.authonomy.com

Authonomy is a website owned and operated by the publishers HarperCollins. The idea is that aspiring writers upload their books, complete or otherwise, for everyone to read and review. If you like a book then you can back it, this pushes the book up the rankings. If you show a talent for backing books that later climb high in the rankings, your talent spotter rating increases. The higher your talent spotter ranking, the more effect your support has. The books that finish in the top 5 every month get at least 10,000 words reviewed by HarperCollins editors.

I think this is a great idea and the site is well produced and managed. I put my book Hiding on the site and got some very kind and supportive comments. However the comments I got were very brief and the reviewers had obviously read only the first chapter. (Maybe my first chapter needs to be more engaging.) I got a hundred times more from my online writing group The Novel Writers. After a few weeks of obsessively watching Hiding crawl up the chart and doing my best to conscientiously review others’ work, supplying honest and constructive comments, I decided to take my book off. I was falling too far behind and the constant ‘back me and I’ll back you’ messages made me cynical. I also realised that the time and effort I’d have to put in to get to the top of the chart could be better spent writing new stuff. A review by professional editors isn't a big enough incentive for me.

I hope the person at HarperCollins who thought of this got a big bonus. It’s a good way to get a few thousand keen writers to submit their stuff to you, then have them all sort through the slush pile. The books that get to the top are either good, or have writers who are good at promoting their work.

Although I still visit the site and read the many helpful and interesting articles, I am now a silent member.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Junior

I've added a page called Junior. It's a story I had published in Raw Edge magazine a few years ago. Sadly the magazine is no more. Hope you like it.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ashes To Ashes

Spoiler warning. Do not read if you're following Ashes To Ashes or Lost and haven't seen the final episodes yet.

I liked the conclusion to A2A. I found it satisfying and it fitted within the internal logic of the series. I was sad, on behalf of her daughter, when Alex was revealed to be dead/dying, but I think that worked better than having her wake up completely recovered and well adjusted. I also think that Ray had a great development arc. He started as a despicable sexist, racist bully. By the end he was a sympathetic sexist, racist bully.

Like many good endings, there was still some ambiguity. Who was Keates? Was he Satan or, my preferred theory, another dying copper drawn to Gene’s world to work through his ‘issues’, who instead descended into evil insanity.

My wife stuck with Lost to the end (I gave up half way) and commented on the similarities in the resolutions. In Lost it was explained that the people stranded on the island had actually been killed in the original plane crash, but their experiences through the series were a process to reach some kind of personal resolution. I’m glad A2A got to transmission first.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Hello all

Some writers who I both envy and admire have started their own Blogs. I follow these regularly and suspect it must be a great way to improve their skills, even for those who are published and successful. I'm a great believer in stealing ideas, as long as they're good ones.

The main subject of this Blog will be my writing, but I'm sure I'll stray into talking about other people's work, what I saw on telly last night, and the fortunes of Birmingham City FC.

Hello and welcome.